Washington state Senate leaders say budget deal reached

View full sizeHouse Speaker Frank Chopp (left), D-Seattle, talks with Rep. Kris Lytton, D-Anacortes, on the floor of the House chamber during a break in a special session of the Washington Legislature on Tuesday in Olympia. The Legislature is currently in a second overtime special session trying to reach a budget deal.The Associated Press

OLYMPIA — Leaders in the Washington state Senate said Wednesday that lawmakers have agreed to the framework of a new budget to avert a government shutdown, but counterparts in the House cautioned that no final accord had been reached.

Republican Sen. Linda Evans Parlette told her colleagues in an email that the Senate and House had "reached an agreement" on the budget. Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom backed away from that language a bit, saying that negotiators have settled on the major components of the budget, allowing staff to go through the process of officially writing it.

Tom expects lawmakers will be able to vote on the spending plan Thursday or early Friday.

Democratic Rep. Reuven Carlyle agreed that a budget framework had been reached but that there was work to do.

Tom acknowledged that all the details of the budget had not been finalized, but he said the lingering issues would not hold up the process.

David Postman, a spokesman for Gov. Jay Inslee, said the governor has not been told of any agreement.

"We believe we are close, but as of now there is more work to be done. I'll take it as a good sign that the Senate is anxious to make an announcement, but it is premature for anyone to say at this point that a deal has been struck," he said in a statement.

Negotiators have been squabbling for weeks over the budget in hopes of reaching a final compromise. Thousands of state employees would be laid off on Monday if lawmakers haven't approved a new spending plan by then.

One of the lingering places of disagreement surrounded questions about how much fish Washington residents consume — and the subsequent impact on water quality standards. The state has been exploring new water quality rules that are influenced by how much fish Washington residents eat, but the Senate has proposed a larger study that could put the rulemaking process on hold.

Tom said he wants the study to pass, since Boeing is concerned about the impact of the fish consumption numbers. But he said the Senate would still pass the budget even if the study wasn't funded.

Much of Washington state government will be shut down Monday if the state doesn't have a new spending plan by then. More than 25,000 workers would be temporarily laid off and some 34 agencies would completely cease operations.

Lawmakers have been squabbling over the proposed two-year, $33 billion operating budget for weeks. They were unable to complete the budget during their allotted session that ended in April, and they were also unable to do the job during a 30-day special legislative session that ended earlier this month.